Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was interviewed by various media outlets after delivering her Policy Address, and many a time asked whether she capitalizes on this Policy Address to renew her term of office. Even though she disclaimed the conjecture, an informant from the local political circle pointed out the message released in those interviews is to “tell Beijing she is ready for renewing her term of office, and waiting for Beijing to give her the green light to go ahead in due course”.

The source alleged that competence and allegiance of chief executive candidates used to be what Beijing required for the job, but since the anti-extradition bill amendment movement, “Beijing has prioritized allegiance, if not deemed the only requirement, over everything else”. Thus, former Director of Immigration Department Tsang Kwok-wai turned into the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs is “exactly the manifestation of political allegiance being prioritized over everything else”.

For the time being, Hong Kong has to be confronted with the problem of how to contain the coronavirus epidemic as well as the economy rigorously struck by the plague. The source said even some pro-establishment figures and business people told him that the Lam’s administration doesn’t demonstrate its capability of fixing it, hence the society and economy getting worse in 2021″. If Lam strives after renewing her term of office, she “cannot but pledge excessive allegiance politically so as to play down her incompetence”. To this end, the entire Policy Address is said to be a “policy address for the Greater Bay Area”, which requires all public officials to swear an oath and Liberal Studies to be revamped. Lam even professed she wouldn’t care about her approval rating. “Something undesirable to Hong Kong people and the pro-democracy camp might be desirable to Beijing, not least Carrie Lam, which shows her allegiance for she doesn’t even deem approval rating significant”.

Another source from a professional realm said when running in the election that very year, Carrie Lam mentioned her husband’s desire for her retirement, and that her win in the election would take away a lot from him. “She even said sorry to her husband for the sacrifices he would continue to make, yet in recent interviews, she said she hadn’t chatted with him for quite a long time, and had spent all the time on work, which suggests family is no longer an obstacle to the renewal of her term of office”. So the source is convinced that blurting out Lam capitalizing on the Policy Address to renew her term of office, “Tien Puk-sun would screw up Lam’s business by spilling the beans for Beijing hasn’t even thought about it”.

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